Last month, we hosted an event to introduce designers and technologists to members of Brainpool, a collective of experts that are passionate about using design to create positive impact. We set up six tables dedicated to different stages of the design process and encouraged questions, open discussion, and of course, doodling. Here were some of the takeaways from the evening.

Today we’re thrilled to announce the release of Kickstarter Live — a new way to share and experience the creative journey as it happens. Kickstarter Live brings live video and real time community engagement onto Kickstarter for the first time.

Over the past few months a select few creators have beta tested Kickstarter Live. They’ve used it to broadcast cooking shows, host live product demos, perform songs, play test games, rehearse a new play, countdown the final seconds of their campaign, and much more. It’s brought their communities closer together, their creativity into the light, and their projects hundreds of new backers.

The key to Kickstarter Live is its intimacy. It brings creators and the people supporting them right into the same room together. And it encourages personal connection. Viewers can ask questions, chat, send selfies, select rewards, and back the project — all while tuned in.

We built Kickstarter Live in collaboration with a small startup based in Vancouver called Huzza, and in the months to come we’ll continue to develop it further in exciting ways.

Over the years Kickstarter has become known as a powerful and unique way to bring creative projects to life. It encourages radical transparency in the creative process, a generous spirit of community, and independent creative expression. Kickstarter Live takes all of that even further. We can’t wait to see how you use it.

You've graciously supported a project on Kickstarter. You watched as the project creator excitedly met their goal, and for the first few months after the campaign ended, you followed along with the creator's updates, eagerly awaiting the estimated delivery date. But then, perhaps something happened. Maybe the creator is posting updates less frequently, or the estimated delivery date of your reward has passed and you haven't received or heard anything. Maybe you received the wrong reward altogether or just want to let them know that your shipping address has changed. We've been there too, and have answered lots of questions from backers with each of these questions –– we’re here to help! Here are our suggestions on how to best approach the situation.

My name is Scott Teplin and I’m an artist living and working in New York City. Since my fourth Kickstarter campaign is now underway, I thought it might be helpful if I shared share a few lessons I’ve learned and applied to my current campaign, BIG SCHOOL.

BIG SCHOOL is a 6-foot-wide maniacally detailed, hand-made watercolor drawing that imagines the architecture of a screwball school. Today I'm writing about how to better prepare for your project before you go live. Here are few things to think about months before you build your campaign.

Today we’re launching Election Issues, a collection of political creations to spark conversation and action, made by our community for everyone to use.

This compendium of resources is inspired by the idea that interacting with political issues in creative ways — reading, writing, dancing, singing, drawing, and more — can encourage profound reflection.

Today we’re announcing a new feature that will make engaging with your backers and building excitement easier: reward scheduling! In addition to setting a backer limit when creating your rewards, you’ll now also be able to set a time-based limit. So, for example, if you only want a reward to be available on the day that you launch your project, you can set a time constraint and not have to worry about updating it after you’ve gone live.

Is there a better way to herald the most spine-tingling night of the year than hanging out with your favorite Kickstarter Games creators in an otherworldly arcade? On October 29 at BRIC in Fort Greene Brooklyn, you’ll get to experience video and tabletop games firsthand from New York-based creators — fantastic games like Ghost Pirates, Guns of Icarus, Pixel Noir, and the artful Decemberists-Keith Baker collaboration, Illimat. Blackbox, a new venture from the Cards Against Humanity team, will be setting up a pop-up shop so you can take your favorite games home (we think they make excellent Halloween treats). Confidently abandon your respective realities and step into the Ghost Arcade with us on October 29. Share your get-ups and good times with us by using the tag #KickstarterArcade.